What to say in a News Interview

Posted by Eitel in For Coaches, For Players | 0 comments

Athletes are known for their powerful forms that gracefully move to the beat of victory. When a basketball player strives to better his game by running bleachers and wind sprints he is praised. Many athletes find their dynamic personalities are often eclipsed by their body’s energetic performance on court. Athletes should allow their sparkling minds to shine along with their sweaty, sinewy biceps. When an athlete is called upon to discuss his performance and that of his team in a news interview there are a few basics which should be kept in mind.

A positive attitude, pleasantly smiling face, relaxed shoulders, straight posture, and a congenial tone are the first steps to successful communication in a news interview. Whether an athlete is speaking with a newspaper reporter or in front of a camera with a sportscaster, it is important to know that the impression made on the interviewer will dictate the tone of the interview.

How an athlete conducts herself with the interviewer will set the tone of the interview as it is edited or written about in the interviewers down time. Viewers and readers will judge the athlete and her team by the impression that is made from the statements the athlete makes. Here are a few basic things to remember as an athlete being interviewed for the news. Always remember a respectful, polite interview is best. As Bobby Knight the famous Indiana Hoosiers coach said, “The key is not the “will to win”…everybody has that. It is the will to prepare to win that is important.” Preparation is the key to a great news interview.

• Be positive and upbeat when discussing your team and team members.
• Discuss yourself, your personal athletic goals, your team goals, and your athletic regime in regards to diet and exercise.
• Use proper language and diction. Use grammatically correct language.
• Discuss the game and how you felt while playing.
• Discuss your future goals, hopes, and positive expectations.
• Discuss your passion, exuberance, excitement, and love for the game.
• Discuss things that inspire you to strive for excellence. Your mentors included.
• Gather together quotes from people you admire to use as segues during the interview.
• Discuss your motivations. Reasons behind why you took certain actions: sponsored an event.
• Discuss memories that are positive that support your role today as an athlete.
• Discuss community support and thank those who support you and your team.
• Talk about upcoming events, fundraisers, tournaments, and games that you will be participating in. Discuss if you need community involvement. This is a great way to increase support for your team.
• Do not make open, public criticisms of your team, other teams, coaches, or parts of the community.
• Do not discuss your opinion on politics, religion, social change, or topics that are irrelevant to your team sport.
• Do not discuss any type of team discord or lay blame for any team failures. Keep these things private between yourself, your coaching staff, and your team.
• Do not make racist, derogative, or bigoted remarks.
• Do not use foul language. Keep the use of slang to a minimum.

Photo credit: inboundpass

Off-Season Training Tips – Part I

Posted by Eitel in For Players | 0 comments

The basketball season is an intense time of athleticism and power. Whether an amateur or professional, athletes work hard to create a body which performs with prowess and dexterity. The synergy of adrenaline, sweat, and muscle creates the ability to move with agility and grace. During the regular season daily practice combines with a high level of competition to keep the athlete in peak condition but even a championship season eventually comes to an end. This may lead one to have thoughts on how to maintain one’s fitness level during the off season.

As Sir Isaac Newton stated, “A body in motion stays in motion.” If continued without variation the routine required during the regular season can land one in a rut. The human body needs diversity to maintain its highest level of fitness an one must take advantage of the mind body connection in order to create a superior athlete. The off season is a great time to take a vacation from the daily grind and add fun to the agenda while maintaining and even improving performance levels.

Part I: Adults
Tips for adults to stay in shape during the off season are similar to those suggested for the youths with a little more emphasis on conditioning. Intermural summer leagues and competitions are great. Hiring a training coach who specializes in the area in which one wants to improve their game is helpful especially if one can receive on-on-one interaction. Also attending seminars given by professional athletes will assist you in getting feedback about your game.

Eating healthy and daily conditioning like running and aerobics are very important. Adults might also benefit from a cooking class so that they can learn to prepare the types of meals that will suit their particular body type. Participating in summer marathons keeps one in the spirit of competition while causing an athlete to maintain fitness with a focus that is separate from their usual routine. Practicing the weakest part of one’s game is important to gain competency. Many adult athletes find participating in classes such as yoga, spinning, martial arts, and Pilates will increase their flexibility and build their level of aerobic fitness. An added bonus to these types of classes is the reduction in instances of muscle strains and tears.

The off season is an excellent time to start new athletic endeavors which assist you with your flexibility and improve your basketball game. Diversity during the off season makes for a stronger athlete.

Other off season training tips:

• Participate in pickup games at local parks and recreation centers.
• Charity basketball clinics held in your local area by professional basketball players.
• See a nutritionist for the proper eating plan to build muscle and maintain proper weight.
• Keep a daily journal of your physical progress and make goals to reach during the summer.
• Watch videos on how to improve specific parts of your basketball game and learn new techniques to use during the regular season.

Photo credit: duchamp

Tips on playing Defense correctly

Posted by Eitel in For Coaches | 1 comment

Defense is a very important and occasionally overlooked component of the game. It doesn’t have the glory of scoring points, or magnificent showboating slam dunks, but it does make or break a game. What people do not realize is that without defense, the game would essentially be a boring back and forth scoring festival where you know exactly where the points would be. With a defence involved you really never know what is going to happen next.

Conditioning is one of the first elements that a defensive player should work and work hard on. Playing defense at the start of the game is one thing, but being in good enough shape to play that same defense by the end of the game makes the difference between good and great players. Things like proper diet, aerobics and light weight training will go a very long way in extending your endurance and providing you with the battery life that you’ll require!

Knowing yourself goes a long way. While every player has strengths and works on them to keep them in tip top shape, it takes a unique and special player to identify and admit their weak points, and work on those. Weak points will never improve unless you work on them. If you find yourself winded as the game goes on, aerobics and cardio are going to be a focal point for you.

Variety is another weapon of the team defence. If your team always plays the same defense, opposing teams will identify it and find ways to easily beat it and score. Where adding in new formations, switching player’s to different positions and just shaking things up will go a very long way in keeping an offense guessing as to what you are up to.

When you are defending a player one of the most underutilized tools are a player’s hands. Get those hands up when a shot is being made as the slightest touch can alter a balls trajectory and send it just enough off course to cause a shot to miss, or even cause the ball to come into your team’s possession.

Listen to your teammates and listen often. Communication is crucial with teammates, and they will often tell you the information that you need to know, even if you can’t see it. They will be your eyes, so trust them! Also on the sidelines be open and talk with your teammates, someone may have noticed something about the other teams tendencies that may give your team the upper hand, and without communication would just go unnoticed.

One final point to help hone your defensive game and help improve it is the use of fakes. While players on offense frequently fake, players on defense do not utilize fakes as often as they should. Faking an offensive player can force him to make an unplanned move and can cause the offensive plan to go out the window. This can cause mistakes and miscommunication and open a window for the defence to get the ball!

Photo credit: brookenovak

Dealing with an Injury during a Basketball Game

Posted by Eitel in For Coaches | 0 comments

Injuries happen, you cannot predict them, nor on occasion can you prevent them, but you will need to know how to deal with them even before they happen or you could without thinking about it make them even worse. This is not to say that you need a medical degree to play basketball, or even any other sport. This is simply to suggest some general knowledge that will assist you when these situations should happen to yourself or your teammates.

One thing you do straight off the bat is to admit you are injured. Some players will attempt to gut injuries out and hide them from fellow teammates and coaches in an attempt to avoid loss of play time or potential demotion. When you fail to admit injury your quality of play not only can be affected, but you risk not only further aggravating that existing injury but you risk creating more severe injuries as a result of putting strain on other parts of the body.

When you suspect an injury has occurred, immediately consult the team medical staff, and if no one is available in that capacity, then you may need to go to your local hospital for tests to see if the injury may be severe enough to affect your game play.

With identifying a potential injury on the court, some simple measures like heat, or cold could be applied. Even simply staying off of it for the rest of the game could be best. Usually with minor injuries people try to work through them, but it would be best if there is any pain even a small amount to get it checked out at a local medical facility before you resume your normal game play.

When you have visited a medical facility and received treatment along with instructions on how to care for the injury, be sure to follow them to the letter. Not doing so can aggravate the existing injury or even worsen it. While it is tempting to be the hero to your team and play through your injury to try to win a game, sometimes it is in the best interests of the team to do what’s best for you and not be out on the court performing at a lower quality of play than normal.

To try to avoid injuries and do all that you can to ensure you minimize your chance of injury, proper stretching before the game is absolutely essential. A lot of players like to stretch periodically throughout the game to ensure that their muscles remain warmed up throughout the game. Preventative measures like stretching and proper exercise are absolutely crucial to avoiding unnecessary injuries.

The days of player’s acting big, strong, and macho have started to wane as players are becoming increasingly aware of injuries and the long term affects they can have on the body if not properly cared for. They can more than just affect your game; they can affect your life.

Photo credit: Zach Klein

Being a Self-Reliant Athlete

Posted by Eitel in For Players | 0 comments

Being a self reliant athlete may seem like a very small and unimportant thing, but to coaches and teammates it is the difference between a good player, and a great player. Self Reliance goes a long way in both on and off the court activity and shows that players not only are there for themselves, but also are there for their team. Players cannot and should not ever solely rely on others, as they need to learn to do certain things for themselves. Taking that initiative can even earn you promotions and better reputations all around.

First place that a player can improve is becoming self reliant during workouts and during stretches. Waiting for someone to tell you what to do is fine and dandy, but it never hurts to step up and start your own routine in advance. Modifying your own routine or seeking the advice of your coach or other players to change your routine also shows initiative because you will be attempting your own self improvement without being told to.

While a coach is there to help out the team wherever and whenever he can, you also have to realize a coach cannot hold the hand of every player all the time. While they can give you some 1 on 1 time on occasion, they cannot do it every day all the time. It is the player’s responsibility to do a certain amount of preparation on and off the court so that they are ready to go for practice and for game. If you need help with your workout routine, as k the coach, but once you get advice, look up variations online, and meld it to your needs. You as the player know what your game requires you to improve, and know what your body needs to improve.

The players that most impress coaches, and often earn promotions and increased play time, are the ones that take initiative and do things on their own without being told. They are the ones that do things outside of mandatory team activities, and they are the ones that stay extra time just to do their part. Some people will say that it is nothing more than “kissing up”, while a coach, and other players will notice it is simply dedication.

To be self reliant, does not mean that you have to become a slave to the game and do nothing but, it just means that you come prepared day in and day out, and are willing to give it 100% from start to finish. It just shows you are dedicated to the team and to the sport, and that you understand that there is in fact “No “I” in Team”.

While being self reliant used to be mocked and made fun of, more and more athletes are becoming self reliant, and are discovering that it makes life both for players, coaches, and overall teams easier, and more fun. When everyone is pulling their share and no one is forced to pull someone else’s load, you will find that morale, and team chemistry will benefit!

Photo credit: Suss-Man (Mike)